Happy Holidays Fellow Genis!

This poem is republished with the permission of the author:

The Clues

Fayette County is but one of the few
of many places ancestors passed through.
They stayed for a time, with jobs and kids
Daily survival and busyness they lived amid.

Whether out on the porch or in the yard
Neighbors hardly needed an 'Introduction Card'.
They shared their sorrows, good fortune too
Neighborhoods became family without 'Ta-do'.

Like marriages, in sickness and health
Everyone helped, shared their wealth.
Whether fresh fruit, veggies, or milk
Friendships made life go 'smooth as silk.'

Now, we look with a magnifying glass
At where our ancestors lived in past
We boldly search for the lives they led
We scrounge for records til we go to bed.

When they gave their name, did they think
100 years ahead that we'd curse fading ink?
Did they consider how all their daily acts
Would become so important to us as "facts"?

As they married, baptized, raised their kin
Did they imagine future generations coming in?
A 5th great-grand, whether narrow face or so round
Descendants from one to hundreds here abound.

No, they never thought we'd want them so
As we search here, there---high and low.
They simply lived lives, much as we all do
Without considering leaving us any clues.

Written by Judith Florian, Dec. 21, 2008 at 3pm